On September 12 it was officially announced that WWE WrestleMania 43 will be held in Saudi Arabia.
Talks are already reportedly underway between Saudi backers and TKO – WWE’s parent company – to get The Rock for the show’s main event.
The question remains – who could he face on the show? Here are five potential opponents.
5. Roman Reigns
Two names have already been suggested as opponents for The Rock by WrestleMania 43’s Saudi Arabian backers: one of those is Roman Reigns.
A mega-clash between the cousins has been discussed for over a decade, and The Rock himself has made it clear it’s a match he wants.
The bout was almost set for WrestleMania 40 when The Rock came in and tried to upend the original plans for the Reigns vs Cody Rhodes rematch, before instead, Rock teamed with Reigns against Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the night one main event.
With huge money on the table and the hour-glass on The Rock’s in-ring career running short, Reigns feels like the most likely opponent to headline WWE WrestleMania 43.
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4. John Cena
John Cena is set to end his legendary career at the end of this year, with his reported final match scheduled for December 13 at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event.
But will that really be his last ever bout?
It’s very likely that Saudi authorities are going to want to pull out all the stops for WrestleMania 43, which could mean a huge money offer for Cena.
If he agrees to quickly step out of retirement, fans could finally see the long-awaited third chapter between himself and The Rock.
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3. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Arguably, there is no greater WrestleMania rivalry than The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Career rivals, the two icons clashed at WrestleManias 15, 17 and 19 – with Austin winning the first two before The Rock finally defeated him in their 2003 encounter, which at the time looked to be Austin’s last match.
19 years later, Austin returned to the ring against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38, and he has since suggested he may have one more bout left in him.
Could that final match be one more clash with The Rock on the grand stage of WWE WrestleMania 43?
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2. Bron Breakker
Bron Breakker’s rise to the top of WWE has been predicted by many — including Paul Heyman, who declared earlier in the year on Raw that the 27-year-old will headline WrestleManias for years to come.
But will one of those headline spots come at WrestleMania 43?
There would be few – if any – better ways to establish Breakker as WWE’s new top babyface than having him defeat a heel Rock in the main event.
However, with the show’s Saudi Arabian backers likely to dictate the show’s direction, the question is whether Breakker will be seen as a big enough name.
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1. Cody Rhodes
Besides Roman Reigns, the other name reportedly mentioned by WrestleMania 43’s Saudi Arabian backers as a potential opponent for The Rock is Cody Rhodes.
This makes perfect storyline sense – it was The Rock who orchestrated John Cena’s heel turn and helped beat down Rhodes at Elimination Chamber earlier this year, and it also goes back to Rock teasing a match against Rhodes after WrestleMania 40, which was initially penciled in for Mania 41.
As Undisputed WWE Champion, Rhodes is WWE’s top babyface star, and a clash with The Rock would be a massive dream match.
From what we know so far, WrestleMania 43 will be headlined by The Rock against either Cody Rhodes or Roman Reigns — but which one it ends up being will undoubtedly remain a constant topic of conversation all the way to April 2027.
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